If there was to be a league table of the most crucial and important stories ever published by DC Comics, then I don’t doubt that Crisis on Infinite Earths – along with The Flash of Two Worlds – would secure the top place. After the conclusion of that colossal event in 1986, the DC Universe had changed radically. The Multiverse had been around for a quarter of a century when Marv Wolfman and George Perez tore it down in their twelve-issue maxiseries and merged the content of Earths 1, 2, S and more into one realm known as New Earth. However, the Multiverse was not gone for long. Writers longed for a return to the alternative realities created and pioneered by Gardner Fox. Creators like Mark Waid and Grant Morrison appeared and reinvented the Multiverse for the 1990s. But when it comes to those titanic Multiverse-wide events like Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985-6, Zero Hour in 1994, Infinite Crisis in 2005-6, and then Final Crisis in 2008, none bar that mid-eighties spectacle by Wolfman and Perez can stand taller than 2011’s Flashpoint, an event which ended an era…
Flashpoint was a huge multipart event consisting not of a long maxiseries, but several miniseries instead. The core series – which the bulk of this review will examine – was five issues long and published from July to October 2011. Written by Geoff Johns, the core series was drawn by Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope and Jesse Delperdang. I’ve read the miniseries in its trade paperback.
So, why is Flashpoint so important? When it comes down to it, DC is a mess of countless timelines and eras, and it is virtually impossible to organise such a mess of worlds in the infinite Multiverse. While some fans and historians may chronicle the history of the DC Universe by splitting it into several eras reflecting years and eras such as the Golden, Silver, Bronze, Dark, and Modern Ages, I think the best way to illustrate the impact of Flashpoint is by splitting DC’s history into three sections. The first is the pre-crisis world of 1938 – from the creation of Superman – to 1986 – the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is a long era of Multiverse mixing and heroes from different Earths commonly running into each other. The second era is DC from 1986 to 2011 – essentially the creation of New Earth at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths to the birth of Prime Earth in Flashpoint, bridged by a re-emergence of the Multiverse in stories like Zero Hour and Infinite Crisis. The third era, which began in 2011, consists essentially of the New 52, Rebirth, and the aborted 5G. These three very different periods are bridged by Crisis on Infinite Earths and Flashpoints – they both change things hugely. But unlike the former story, Flashpoint is unique. It does more than explore another Multiverse stories – it is a rare breed of both a Multiverse story and an Elseworlds tale.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC began exploring the Multiverse using Elseworlds, a special imprint which placed DC’s conventional characters into strange and bizarre settings. The first and most famous in this line was Gotham by Gaslight, featuring Batman in Gotham in the Victorian era. DC explored countless scenarios and popularised a new kind of story. What Flashpoint does – and very successfully I have to say – is mix these two aspects of DC’s intricate storytelling with the tragedy of an unlikely star of such a monolithic story.
Unlike previous Crisis stories, the star hero here is the Flash. He is the only recognisable hero from DC’s usual timestream in Flashpoint. At first, you might think that starring Barry Allen – a dull and characterless police scientist despite his speedy powers – would be a mistake. However, issue one sets the scene as we’re introduced to the murder of Barry’s mother. The death of the Flash’s mother – unresolved – comes out of the blue especially since it wasn’t ever mentioned before. From that moment (i.e., page one) Flashpoint becomes a complex mess of stories trying to explain little details. DC wrote a prelude to explain how Professor Zoom, otherwise known as the Reverse Flash, went back in time to murder the Flash’s mother and frame his father for the crime. Although Barry Allen still became the Flash, his main goal was to discover his mother’s true killer and fight crime for all of his life. However, upon learning that Zoom was behind it, a distraught Flash went back in time using his speed force to change history. This lengthy explanation is why Barry Allen begins this story in a radically different world – one where his mother is alive, and the world is caught in a battle between the empires of Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Yes, I did just spoiler the entire story there. However, if you were to read Flashpoint as a whole in chronological order, most of the surprises along the way in the five-issue miniseries would become redundant. It’s why I’ve decided to just look primarily at the five issues and not the forty or so issues which are connected to the miniseries. Sure, I’ll mention some of the plots from time to time, but I think that it overcrowds a miniseries which works well because of its surprising brevity and simplicity. So, the Flash wakes up in another world, shocked to find that his powers are gone, and his mother is still alive. But his problems seem minor compared to the woes of the Flashpoint world. In Gotham City, Batman stalks the city catching his criminal prey. All seems normal until we witness that this Dark Knight is up for using guns and has a lax attitude towards murder. However, Cyborg then appears. Connected to the US government, Cyborg comes seeking Batman’s help as the world’s heroes have all united to help save Earth from the war between the Atlanteans and Amazonians. This long scene features Batman and Cyborg, along with a wide range of heroes which many would recognise, but in this universe they are different. For instance, the Marvel family is all here, but they are children forever – working with a crueller and war-torn version of Shazam. There are others like the Outsider, a secret agent, and Citizen Cold, Central City’s trademark superhero in loo of a Flash. Essentially, this lot are the back up for the big fight later. As you’d expect, there is a miniseries or one-off looking at each individual team and character. However, the basics are provided here. Shockingly, Batman turns down their pleas to save the world which is quickly losing sanity. It becomes clear from here-on-out that for the core miniseries, the main characters are Flash and the Batman. Their two stories converge at the end of issue one as the Flash enters a destroyed Wayne Manor to find his friend Bruce Wayne. Upon entering the Batcave, he finds Batman – but he is not his friend. Bruce Wayne is dead in this universe – the Dark Knight is vengeful father Thomas Wayne. Even though I’ve read that ending countless times before, its impact is still tremendous.
With the first issue out of the way, the second one focuses less on the set-up and more on plot and character. While the war on the oceans, land, and skies continues, Batman attacks the Flash in the cave for breaking in. Batman does not trust the Flash, while the Flash is shocked to find Bruce isn’t the man behind the mask. Something of a fight breaks out until the Flash suffers a seizure as he realises the memories of his past life are being erased and replaced by memories of the Flashpoint universe. Reluctantly, Batman believes the Flash and decides to help him in his quest to save the world and defeat Zoom after Barry tells him about the Bruce of his universe. Thomas Wayne sees hope in the fact that Bruce Wayne is alive in Barry’s world – this is the incentive and driving power of Flashpoint Batman. In the Flashpoint universe, Joe Chill killed Bruce Wayne that dark night in Crime Alley instead of Thomas and Martha Wayne. After the shock of Bruce’s death, Martha goes down the dark path of insanity and becomes this universe’s Joker. This idea makes for easily the best of the Flashpoint crossover miniseries. Thomas Wayne makes for a great and truly gritty Batman, while the choice of Martha Wayne for the Joker is unique and makes for a wonderful story. But ignoring that, Batman is a fantastic character here because he wants what his best for his son in the mainstream DC Universe and – over time – his relationship between the Flash improves. In order to get his powers back, the Flash enlists Batman’s help to recreate the very moment when electrified chemicals were struck by lightning and transformed Barry into the Flash. The two of them try to emulate that moment once again – it fails once a bit pointlessly since the Flash tries it again and gets his speed back. I guess the reasoning for the failed first attempt is to show that Batman really cares about his son since he needs the Flash to survive to ensure that Bruce can live. Anyway, with the Flash back and Batman ready to join Cyborg and his gang, it’s about time we actually see the main villains of this story.
Issue three introduces us to Wonder Woman and Aquaman. While there is a huge backstory about these two and how they were lovers before their titanic empires grew hostile to one another, the main miniseries barely touches on it. Sure, there is a miniseries exclusively about it, but I think some explanation about the relationship between the two characters would have been most welcome. Regardless, there is also some other heroes that turn up like Grifter and his Resistance, but they don’t get much of a look in. At moments that like, I really wish that Flashpoint opted for eight, ten or twelve issues rather than a mere five. It feels like there is a lot to cram in and I think that the additional content would have benefited from being included in the main miniseries. What made Crisis on Infinite Earths good was that it was lengthy, and it felt like there was lots going on at once. You do get that feeling here, but there aren’t the same explanations or storytelling present that made Crisis on Infinite Earths great. But unlike Crisis, Flashpoint does undeniably speed along. When it comes to the main plot of the third issue, Cyborg breaks away from the US government and works alongside Batman and the Flash to rescue Superman from a secret military base. It turns out that the Flash saving his mother also altered the trajectory of Superman’s rocket as it crashed in a major city rather than in the dusty outskirts in Kansas. After some enjoyably stealthy scenes, the trio find Superman and we’re in for another shock. The government has basically been using Superman as a test subject to experiment with his powers. He is ultra-thin as his powers have never been used since he has never been exposed to sunlight.
Although the heroes do escape with a weak, anxious and fearful Superman, the alien flies into the sky upon feeling the heat of sunlight. That leaves the Flash, Batman and Cyborg all alone to face a horde of soldiers ready to kill them for breaking into the military base. Where does Superman go? What was his story? Again, see yet another miniseries…
Despite being the penultimate issue, issue four is something of a depressive episode. The heroes may escape from the jaws of death, but the Flash is depressed since Superman is now gone. The difference between your usual Superman and these makes Flashpoint even better. Making him into a weak and tortured soul with a different attitude adds even more bleakness to this cruel and bitter world. It all seems hopeless, but in the end Cyborg’s gang arrives and decides that now is the time to fight. The battleground for the great war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman is the United Kingdom – now named New Themyscira after the original island fell prey
to the powerful waters of Atlantis. The heroes go over to Britain and – thankfully – a few of them die. You need that in a big story. Shazam is the big one to fall (again, see a miniseries if you care about him and want to know more). But as for the Flash, he just seems like a boring prop for this section as the reasons for why we were interested in the story become disguised by a dull relationship between two rich royals who now hate one another. But suddenly, Johns gets us with another surprise ending. As the battle rages on, the Flash’s foe finally emerges – the Reverse Flash enters the field…
For most of the fifth issue, it’s just one big explanation. Zoom gloats and beats the Flash to the ground while explaining that he created himself into some kind of paradox, enabled by the Flash rescuing his mother. Essentially, to destroy the Paradox, Zoom has to die. But just when the Flash looks beaten and Zoom appears victorious, a sword slides through the villain’s back and through his chest. It is Batman. Simply a fantastic moment made even better by the art. Sure, the moment is more dramatic in the animated edition as Batman blows Zoom’s brains out with a gun, but the shock is still there. And then Superman appears from the heavens – he understands what he must do. He charges towards Aquaman and Wonder Woman, grabbing them as he prepares to stop the war. But suddenly, with the paradox broken, the Flashpoint world begins to decay and explode. In his final words, Batman tells the Flash to run and save his son. The Flash does so – he uses the speed force to enter the limbo between Multiverses. In doing so, he creates a new Earth – Prime Earth. Essentially, this is the world of the New 52 and Rebirth. That is why Flashpoint is so important. However, before the story can end, Barry has to stop the past version of himself from going into the past to rescue his mother. After doing so, he’s back in the present. Although Barry may be a pretty boring character, Johns gives him enough humanity and an interesting backstory here to make the drama about his mother seem interesting and emotional. We’re not in tears at any time, but you certainly feel something. However, the real emotion appears with the ending. In the Batcave, Flash tells Bruce Wayne about his experience in the Flashpoint universe and the adventures of Thomas Wayne as the Dark Knight. In a sweet and revealing moment for Batman, Barry gives him a handwritten note from his father. What the letter says isn’t revealed until later – specifically Tom King’s brilliant Batman run from 2016 to 2020 (Batman (vol 3) 1-85) – but the moment is powerful, and Bruce sheds a tear. After a power of varying emotion, tension and drama, an ending like this feels poignant and highly memorable.
Believe it or not, what I just described barely scratched the surface of Flashpoint’s full content. After all, with only five issues given to the main miniseries, there is so much that is underdeveloped or barely touched upon if you delve exclusively into the meat of Flashpoint. However, any good miniseries – regardless of how many add-ons and extra specials and titles are created alongside it – should function well enough on its own. When reading Flashpoint 1-5, you should be able to understand Flashpoint well. I think that is the case to some extent, but not fully. The main miniseries clearly favours the Flash and Batman as the two focuses and that makes sense, especially since the Flash is the reason behind why everything has gone wrong. However, Johns doesn’t really go into any detail about the fight between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Again, there is another miniseries or two which explores that (I have to say that they aren’t classic stories), but I really think that it should have been looked at here. The same applies to Superman and his story. While the miniseries focusing on Superman in the Flashpoint world is great in terms of its emotional power and bleakness, some of that would have benefited the story here. In short, Flashpoint would have been better if it were longer and amalgamated the stories of the other miniseries into one. So, why didn’t DC do this? Money obviously. DC realised that they could make more money if they flogged and churned out more stories for fans to buy. While I’m sure that Flashpoint was a giant cash cow for 2011, creatively it may have damaged the great potential that a combined story of a range of plots could have had. That said however, I have to say that some stories work better outside of the core miniseries. For example, the story featuring Batman and his battle against the Joker is fantastic and feels separate enough from the main action to become memorable and hugely enjoyable. I have to say though that some of the other miniseries feel really dragged out and include a sprinkle of content which I could name important – in that case DC should have just inserted them into the main series.
You might have noticed that my complaints for Flashpoint focus very much on its size. If you ignore the details of this epic and focus on the main miniseries, then Flashpoint is great. It’s a real page turner and while there may be a few moments of verbosity (most notably in the final issue when Zoom explains his plan), the pacing is incredible and rapid. Featuring the Flash as the hero works surprisingly well and he’s a character you really grow closer to. I just think that the villains could have been developed more. Zoom may be pure evil and his relentless cruelty towards the Flash makes for good drama, but the Wonder Woman/Aquaman fight just bores me to tears. In short, the five issues of Flashpoint work at its best when readers don’t recognise just how overcrowded and busy it can be. Flashpoint could have done without the countless miniseries and expansion stories. They may have admittedly constructed an incredible universe of stories and characters but placing them within the main miniseries would have provided a much fuller and better experience for one of DC’s most crucial tales.
When it comes to titanic stories featuring a range of characters and a cluster of action and fighting, an artist with impeccable talent for drama and detail is required. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, George Perez (who sadly died earlier in the year) was the best man for the job – his clean but dramatic and colourful style made that twelve-issue maxiseries into a classic. I’m sure many pencillers were considered for Flashpoint, but Andy Kubert was an obvious choice. Like Perez, his storytelling is dramatic and highly cinematic. He is used to drawing pages full of characters and Kubert had a real challenge on his hands this time, especially because of the unique designs for characters like Batman which differ from the usual DC universe. Due to this, the Flashpoint universe’s visual appearance is very much his creation. His inhouse but memorable style full of energy and drama makes Flashpoint even better, especially since he is aided by two very able inkers in Hope and Delperdang.
VERDICT
Overall, Flashpoint must be remembered for ending an era. The post-Crisis world created in 1986 began to fracture with stories like Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis, but it is Flashpoint that really brought the celling down. The unique world created by Johns is expansive and huge. The main plot may often be lumbered by this, and all kinds of additional stories explored by other creators, but Flashpoint 1-5 is very enjoyable because of the tensions, drama and emotions that run through it. Both the Flash and Thomas Wayne’s Batman make for flawless protagonists. It’s a bit of a shame that the villains and threat feel underdeveloped. Although Flashpoint may end a long era in DC’s history, when something ends another thing begins. It’s been more than a decade sine Flashpoint occurred and while the path since with The New 52 and Rebirth has been rocky, the potential for new stories by new creators is still there. In short, comics may change, but the magic will never die.
Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
Next Week: TBC
Comments